€10,60

Gymnocalycium spegazzinii Britton & Rose

🌱 Morphology
A solitary and very slow-growing Gymnocalycium with a strongly flattened globose body, 6–12 cm tall and 10–14 cm in diameter. The epidermis varies from grayish green to olive brown. It features 10–15 very wide and low ribs, occasionally up to 30, divided into flattened tubercles by transverse grooves. The large areoles are initially covered with yellowish wool. It develops 5–7 robust radial spines, curved downwards and pressed against the body, up to 5.5 cm long, generally brown or ochre and becoming grayish with age. The central spine is usually absent in the typical form. The large taproot remains partially buried in nature.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It extends through northwestern Argentina—Salta, Tucumán, and Catamarca—and reaches southern Bolivia. It lives at elevations of approximately 1,300 to 3,600 m, in sandy, gravelly, or rocky terrain, usually flat and among xerophytic scrub, often associated with Leucostele terscheckii and other columnar cacti. It belongs to the Cactaceae family, Cactoideae subfamily, and Cereeae tribe. Recent phylogenomic classification places Gymnocalycium in this monogeneric subtribe.

❄️ Temperature · USDA Zone 8b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to −12 ºC when kept dry and for well-acclimatized specimens. The high altitude of part of its range explains its remarkable cold resistance. In cultivation, the substrate must remain completely dry during frosts.

☀️ Lighting
It requires plenty of light, although in summer it appreciates semi-shade during hours of most intense radiation. A DLI PAR exceeding 20 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ is recommended. Insufficient lighting reduces compaction and can compromise flowering.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. During winter, it is kept completely dry. In spring and summer, abundant but spaced watering is recommended, allowing the substrate to dry out completely before repeating. At the end of summer, watering should be reduced progressively. Its large tuberous root makes avoiding waterlogging especially important.

🌸 Flowering
Flowers from about 4–5 years of age in cultivation. The flowers are large for the size of the plant, white to pale pink, with a pinkish-purple throat, up to 7 cm long and about 5 cm in diameter. Flowering occurs mainly between June and September and it can produce several successive flowers during the same season, so it can be considered reblooming in cultivation.

🌿 Nutrition
During active growth, Desert CHOICE® Cactáceas NPK (Ca-Mg) 4-4-7 (4-4) is recommended. Assimilable calcium promotes the formation of firm tissues and the maintenance of turgidity, while magnesium participates in chlorophyll synthesis.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

10x10x9 black pot

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The plant's measurements are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly because it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.

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